I Haven't Done Any Volunteering. Help!

Feb 20, 2009

"I'm going to be a junior and I don't have any volunteering to list in my college apps. How important is this?"

Margot, 16, Liberty, Mo

Volunteering isn't necessarily a requirement for admission to college. It's often something that you include along with your list of activities and/or leadership, and it's considered along with your general involvement. But one of the important things to keep in mind as you fill your schedule with activities is to make sure that you are demonstrating a passion for and a commitment to whatever it is you do. Admissions officers like to see multiple years of commitment to a particular activity or academic interest as well as leadership positions. For instance, if you're involved with your school's newspaper, it's great to see increasing responsibility each year, like starting off as a contributor, then moving up to section editor.

Some colleges and universities may have specific volunteering requirements and/or recommendations, so you should double-check with the schools where you're applying to see if that's the case. If you find out now, then you'll have plenty of time during your junior year, summer, and early senior year to fulfill that requirement. And it certainly won't hurt you to add those volunteering hours to your other college applications.

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